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nebrisGun Control Logic is *always* about Gun Elimination because it is trying to stop humans from being the violent creatures that we are and since that is *always* doomed to failure, 'control' keeps including more and more types of guns until *all* guns are banned, except for those owned by The State. That's called Fascism.
The UK proved that back in 1987 when it finally banned handguns. The result? In the following decade violent crime went from 650,000 to 1.2 million incidents per year, even though the UK is one of the most surveillance intensive country's in the world. BTW the ratio of violent crime in the UK is 950 per 100,000 while in the US is 449 per 100,000.
It's a lot like gay marriage. You don't want to have one? Fine. Don't. Just do not try to deny me the Right to have the ones I want.
And in the end the politicians understand the numbers. 146,000,0000 Americans own 310,000,000 guns. There will be a lot of noise and not much will happen, basically because they want to keep their jobs.
All this Gun Control noise is likely to do is breathe fresh life into The Tea Party. But most Progressives are pretty clueless about that. Hell, a lot of y'all still think Obama is 'your guy'. He ain't.
I believe The Corporate State has learned The Hitler Lesson, that once a political radical grasps the levers of power, you can no longer control him with money. [It'll be a 'him' every time] That is why they ran all of the loons the GOP base favored off the road with cash early on. Mittens was always a sacrificial candidate. The Corporate State is perfectly happy with that smart accommodating black chap.
But I digress...
As I said a while back: "If the American Left would fully embrace the 2nd Amendment and the concept of The Armed Citizen, they would wipe the GOP Right Wing [and Blue Dog Dems] off of the political map in a single season."
And that is the core issue, 'the concept of The Armed Citizen'. In the past half century, the single worst political mistake of The American Left, tactically and strategically, was in surrendering that ground to The American Right.
There are many 'middle of the road' Americans who like their Social Security and Medicare and Public Services and would happy to see some more of them. Many of them don't really care about, or would comfortably ignore, the establishment of Gay Marriage or the expansion of Women's Reproductive Rights or a host of other progressive issues.
But they will vote for one nasty Fascist asshole after another if he or she promises faithfully to protect their Gun Rights because they don't trust The Gubmint aka The State. That distrust is the heart of 'the concept of The Armed Citizen' and while The American Left also distrusts The State on so many levels, it has adopted this bizarre attitude that it is just fine for The State to posses all the guns.
The Armed Citizen is truly the last best defense against the power of The State. And that is the essence of our Liberty here in The Republic. But The American Right taken almost total control of that concept and has reframed it terms that benefit their true masters, The Corporate State.
Let us do some reframing of our own. Think about Concealed Carry Permits and 'Stand Your Ground' laws. It has been ALEC, possible the most insidious operation of The Corporate State in recent memory, that has largely been the author and lobbyist for those issues. That gave us Travon Martin.
However, what if Occupy had taken the concept of The Armed Citizen to heart. Not for violent revolution, but simply to 'stand their ground'. Think about how the police treated Occupy at Zucotti and in Oakland, with violence and brutality and a near total abrogation of their Civil Rights.
Now think about they might have 'shifted' their policies if it were possible that in each instance there were hundreds of handguns and dozens of assault rifles legally present in each encampment and that there was legal justification to use them, even against law enforcement, within a 'Stand Your Ground' context.
How many American politicians really have the stones to use mass military fire power against crowds of our young Citizens in our urban centers? How many of them would be willing to inflict that kind of a deep wound on the American Body Politic? I doubt any who actually *have* the power to order such a massacre. Even Corporate Media could not ignore State Violence and bloodshed on that scale. The sociopolitical consequences would be extensive and unknowable and politicians deeply dislike those.
That is how the concept of The Armed Citizen really works. Yes, it is scary and uncomfortable. Not only might you yourself die, but you also might kill someone else. Both are profoundly disturbing ideas. But what is your Liberty worth to you? If you're not ready to die, or kill, for it...well, just Submit to The State and shut the fuck up.
Again, this not about armed revolution. We're really not at a place where such is necessary, no matter what the alarmists on the Left and Right say. The Armed Citizen is about Deterrence, about informing The State that pushing certain matters too far will result in civil insurrection and therefore that it needs to respect its Citizens and Negotiate.
For those that sneeringly summon the whole 'tanks versus deer rifles' canard, besides telling you to take a hard look at your own tendencies to fall back on brutal authoritarian solutions, I also advise you to look to our recent adventures in Iraq.
No matter how Washington spins it, the US Military ultimately lost there and it was a fully unified organization in that war. A civil war here would fracture it badly, which is why the Pentagon quails at the thought. I have little doubt that such has held Martial Law at bay several times in recent history. [can you say Dick Cheney?]
For those whom the concept of The Armed Citizen is too difficult, too uncomfortable to embrace, I say Just Let It Be and try this: If you really truly want to reduce gun related homicides in this country, instead of Gun Control, fight just as hard to end The War on Drugs, which is also a multifaceted Social Justice fight. That would reduce those deaths by at least half. Many many more black and brown children are dying in our Inner Cites from gun violence, nearly all Drug War related, than are white children in our suburban schools.
Such also has the moral benefit of Fighting FOR Rights, not against them.
The UK proved that back in 1987 when it finally banned handguns. The result? In the following decade violent crime went from 650,000 to 1.2 million incidents per year, even though the UK is one of the most surveillance intensive country's in the world. BTW the ratio of violent crime in the UK is 950 per 100,000 while in the US is 449 per 100,000.
It's a lot like gay marriage. You don't want to have one? Fine. Don't. Just do not try to deny me the Right to have the ones I want.
And in the end the politicians understand the numbers. 146,000,0000 Americans own 310,000,000 guns. There will be a lot of noise and not much will happen, basically because they want to keep their jobs.
All this Gun Control noise is likely to do is breathe fresh life into The Tea Party. But most Progressives are pretty clueless about that. Hell, a lot of y'all still think Obama is 'your guy'. He ain't.
I believe The Corporate State has learned The Hitler Lesson, that once a political radical grasps the levers of power, you can no longer control him with money. [It'll be a 'him' every time] That is why they ran all of the loons the GOP base favored off the road with cash early on. Mittens was always a sacrificial candidate. The Corporate State is perfectly happy with that smart accommodating black chap.
But I digress...
As I said a while back: "If the American Left would fully embrace the 2nd Amendment and the concept of The Armed Citizen, they would wipe the GOP Right Wing [and Blue Dog Dems] off of the political map in a single season."
And that is the core issue, 'the concept of The Armed Citizen'. In the past half century, the single worst political mistake of The American Left, tactically and strategically, was in surrendering that ground to The American Right.
There are many 'middle of the road' Americans who like their Social Security and Medicare and Public Services and would happy to see some more of them. Many of them don't really care about, or would comfortably ignore, the establishment of Gay Marriage or the expansion of Women's Reproductive Rights or a host of other progressive issues.
But they will vote for one nasty Fascist asshole after another if he or she promises faithfully to protect their Gun Rights because they don't trust The Gubmint aka The State. That distrust is the heart of 'the concept of The Armed Citizen' and while The American Left also distrusts The State on so many levels, it has adopted this bizarre attitude that it is just fine for The State to posses all the guns.
The Armed Citizen is truly the last best defense against the power of The State. And that is the essence of our Liberty here in The Republic. But The American Right taken almost total control of that concept and has reframed it terms that benefit their true masters, The Corporate State.
Let us do some reframing of our own. Think about Concealed Carry Permits and 'Stand Your Ground' laws. It has been ALEC, possible the most insidious operation of The Corporate State in recent memory, that has largely been the author and lobbyist for those issues. That gave us Travon Martin.
However, what if Occupy had taken the concept of The Armed Citizen to heart. Not for violent revolution, but simply to 'stand their ground'. Think about how the police treated Occupy at Zucotti and in Oakland, with violence and brutality and a near total abrogation of their Civil Rights.
Now think about they might have 'shifted' their policies if it were possible that in each instance there were hundreds of handguns and dozens of assault rifles legally present in each encampment and that there was legal justification to use them, even against law enforcement, within a 'Stand Your Ground' context.
How many American politicians really have the stones to use mass military fire power against crowds of our young Citizens in our urban centers? How many of them would be willing to inflict that kind of a deep wound on the American Body Politic? I doubt any who actually *have* the power to order such a massacre. Even Corporate Media could not ignore State Violence and bloodshed on that scale. The sociopolitical consequences would be extensive and unknowable and politicians deeply dislike those.
That is how the concept of The Armed Citizen really works. Yes, it is scary and uncomfortable. Not only might you yourself die, but you also might kill someone else. Both are profoundly disturbing ideas. But what is your Liberty worth to you? If you're not ready to die, or kill, for it...well, just Submit to The State and shut the fuck up.
Again, this not about armed revolution. We're really not at a place where such is necessary, no matter what the alarmists on the Left and Right say. The Armed Citizen is about Deterrence, about informing The State that pushing certain matters too far will result in civil insurrection and therefore that it needs to respect its Citizens and Negotiate.
For those that sneeringly summon the whole 'tanks versus deer rifles' canard, besides telling you to take a hard look at your own tendencies to fall back on brutal authoritarian solutions, I also advise you to look to our recent adventures in Iraq.
No matter how Washington spins it, the US Military ultimately lost there and it was a fully unified organization in that war. A civil war here would fracture it badly, which is why the Pentagon quails at the thought. I have little doubt that such has held Martial Law at bay several times in recent history. [can you say Dick Cheney?]
For those whom the concept of The Armed Citizen is too difficult, too uncomfortable to embrace, I say Just Let It Be and try this: If you really truly want to reduce gun related homicides in this country, instead of Gun Control, fight just as hard to end The War on Drugs, which is also a multifaceted Social Justice fight. That would reduce those deaths by at least half. Many many more black and brown children are dying in our Inner Cites from gun violence, nearly all Drug War related, than are white children in our suburban schools.
Such also has the moral benefit of Fighting FOR Rights, not against them.
